This invention relates generally to a full face vehicle wheels and more specifically to full face vehicle wheel assemblies comprising a full face cast disc and a rolled rim welded to the disc in the vicinity of the deep well of the rim.
Conventionally, vehicle wheels adapted for receiving pneumatic tires have been fabricated from sheet steel. The rim is formed from a strip of steel which is formed into a hoop. The ends of the hoop are butt-welded and the preform is rolled to form the inboard and outboard tire bead retaining flanges, the bead seats and the drop-center well of the rim. Within the interior of the rim is affixed a disc or spider having a centrally disposed pilot hole and a plurality of mounting holes. Traditionally, the disc or spider was disposed at or near the axial mid-plane of the wheel.
With the advent of front wheel drive vehicles which tend to include not only larger brake assemblies but also steering and drive components adjacent the front wheel hubs, it has become necessary to offset the wheel disc from the axial mid-plane position outwardly toward the outboard bead retaining flange. Such full face wheels are the subject of this patent application.
Because the disc has moved outwardly to a more visible position, the wheel has taken on increased significance as a styling element of the vehicle. Because the full face wheel may be produced by such processes as casting or forging it can provide a highly stylized, decorative and distinctive appearance. Accordingly, significant attention has been paid to not only the design but also the mechanical configuration of such full face wheels within the last several years.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,545,130 discloses a split rim wheel assembly wherein the rim members include a rim portion, a disc portion and a web connecting the rim and disc portions. The web is formed so as to have a convex configuration for improved strength.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,551,783 discloses a wheel assembly comprising first and second split rim sections which are welded together and a disc or spider which is welded to the underside of the deep well bottom, formed by the two rim sections, in the vicinity of the weld which unites the two split rim sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,311 discloses a two piece vehicle wheel assembly comprising a full face, non-ferrous, cast disc and a ferrous, rolled or stamped rim welded together near the intersection of the outboard bead seat provided on the rim and an outboard bead seat flange provided on the disc. The disc is cast around a ring, referred to as a welding anchor, which is friction welded to the outboard free edge of the rim.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,736 discloses a method for uniting two cast or forged elements of a split rim vehicle wheel using an electron beam welding technique. In one embodiment of a split rim, disclosed in the patent, a first rim member comprises an inboard bead seat flange, an inboard bead seat, an inboard safety hump, an inboard deep well side wall and a deep well bottom. A second rim member comprises a central disc portion, an outboard, deep well side wall, an outboard safety hump, an outboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat flange.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,347 discloses a two piece wheel assembly comprising an outboard rim member and an inboard rim member including an integrally formed disc. The outboard rim member comprises an outboard bead seat flange, an outboard bead seat, an outboard safety hump, an outboard deep well side wall and a deep well bottom. The inboard rim member comprises an inboard seat flange, an inboard bead seat, an inboard safety hump, an inboard leg, an inboard deep well side wall and a disc member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,482 discloses a two piece, full face wheel assembly comprising a stamped disc, which includes an outboard bead seat flange, and a rolled rim having an outboard free edge which is welded to the disc at the base of the outboard bead seat flange provided thereon. According to the patent, it is preferred that the outboard free edge of the rim be turned radially inwardly to form, with the disc, a trench for welding the rim and disc together. The patent discloses that the disc is made from sheet steel.
A two piece wheel assembly comprising a forged disc and a rolled rim is disclosed in a Wexler brochure entitled "Super Forge". The rim includes an outboard bead seat and is welded to the disc near the intersection of the outboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat flange provided on the disc.